Privacy Policy and Consent to Use of Data

Descriptions

www.theworldlawgroup.com (the “Website”) is owned and operated by World Law Group, Ltd. One Metro Center, 700 12th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005.

(“WLG”).

The terms “we,” “us,” “our” and “ours” when used in this Privacy Policy means WLG.

The terms “you,” “your” and “yours” when used in this Privacy Policy means any user of the Website.

The term “GDPR” when used in this Privacy Policy means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and any laws made under or as a result of it and terms defined in GDPR means the same here, where applicable.

Introduction to Our Privacy Policy

We are committed to the privacy and confidentiality of information provided by you to us. This Privacy Policy describes our current policies and practices with regard to personal information or data collected by us from you directly and/or through this Website. The term “personal information/data” refers to personally identifiable information about you, including without limitation your name, job title, phone number, fax number, email address and/or postal address.

Notification of Changes to This Policy

We are continually improving our methods of communication and adding new functionality and features to this Website and to our existing services. Because of these ongoing changes, changes in the law and the changing nature of technology, our data practices will change from time to time. If and when our data practices change, we will notify you of the changes via this Website and we will update the Effective Date listed at the beginning of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to check this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use frequently for updates.

Collection of Personal Data Including Email Addresses

The term “Personal Data” refers to personally identifiable information about you, including without limitation your name, job title, phone number, fax number, email address and/or postal address. You may choose to register with our Website to receive additional information or services from us. When you register, we may request Personal Data about you and we may ask for demographic or other pertinent information. Gathering this information enables us to provide a personalized service to you. The information you give us is either manually or electronically stored in our databases.

We sometimes supplement the information that you provide with information that is received from third parties. For instance, if inaccurate postal or zip codes are received, we will use third-party software to fix them.

We sometimes collect email addresses from prospect lists of other businesses or via our marketing events, such as conferences and seminars. We only process such personal data for marketing purposes if individuals providing their email addresses have opted in to receive email messages from us.

We may also collect contact information about you from our member law firms, for example where you are a lawyer, other staff member or a client.

Use of Personal Data

We process your Personal Data only for specific and limited purposes. We ask only for data that is adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes.

We use your Personal Data (such as e-mail or postal address) for a variety of purposes, in particular the following:

We may contact you occasionally to inform you about our services including new services we will be providing, or seminars or articles we think will be of interest to you. We may send you regular updates on issues we think will be of interest to you. Both of these apply only in cases where you have opted in receive such communications from us.

We may send you requested information on our services or membership criteria.

For marketing purposes and market research if you have opted in to receive such marketing.

[Process and administer member applications and member renewals]

[Allow you to participate in interactive features of this Website or mobile applications]

Internally to administer this Website and help us improve our services.

To comply with laws and valid requests from authorities.

Lawful Basis

Where GDPR applies, the lawful basis of our processing of your Personal Data is our legitimate interest in providing and maintaining a network of law firms around the world, for the benefit of clients and law firms.

Anonymous Data Collected Through This Website

In addition to the information we collect as described above, we may use a variety of tracking technologies to automatically collect information from you, such as ‎cookies, web beacons, embedded scripts, browser fingerprinting, GPS, iBeacons, and ETags (or ‎‎“entity tags”).‎ For example, we use these technologies to track which pages of the Website our visitors view. We also use technology to determine which web browsers our visitors use. This technology does not aim to identify you personally; it simply enables us to compile statistics about our visitors and their use of the Website.

The Website contains hyperlinks to other pages on the Website. We may use technology to track how often these links are used and which pages on the Website our visitors choose to view. Again, this technology does not aim to identify you personally – it simply enables us to compile statistics about the use of these hyperlinks.

We also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer the Website. An IP address is a numeric code that identifies your computer on a network, or in this case, the Internet. Your IP address is also used to gather broad demographic information, such as determining how many of our visitors are from outside of the U.K.

We may also perform IP lookups to determine which domain you are coming from (i.e.: aol.com, yourcompany.com) to more accurately gauge our users' demographics.

We use this data to improve the content and functionality of the Website and our email updates, to better understand our customers and visitors, and to improve the services we offer. We do not link this data to any other of your Personal Data in any way.

Cookies

Cookies are a tracking technology that work by collecting the first level domain name of the user (for example, if your email address is “john@bigmail.com,” the cookie collects the “bigmail.com” portion of your email address) and the date and time you accessed the Website.

Cookies by themselves are not used to discover the identity of the user. A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies do not damage your computer. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. This enables you to decide if you want to accept it or not. Modifying the settings on your browser will enable you to accept or decline cookies. Please note that deleting or rejecting cookies may affect your usage of the Website and may make certain features of the Website unavailable to you.

For more information on deleting or rejecting cookies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Types of cookies that may be used on the Website are (1) Session cookies - which are temporary cookies that remain in the cookies file of your browser until the browser is closed; and (2) Persistent cookies – which remain in the cookie file of your browser for a longer period of time.<><>

Consent to the use of cookies.

For our website to function properly we use cookies. To obtain your valid consent for the use and storage of cookies in the browser you use to access our website and to properly document this we use a consent management platform: CookieFirst. This technology is provided by Digital Data Solutions BV, Plantage Middenlaan 42a, 1018 DH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Website: https://cookiefirst.com referred to as CookieFirst.

When you access our website, a connection is established with CookieFirst’s server to give us the possibility to obtain valid consent from you to the use of certain cookies. CookieFirst then stores a cookie in your browser in order to be able to activate only those cookies to which you have consented and to properly document this. The data processed is stored until the predefined storage period expires or you request to delete the data. Certain mandatory legal storage periods may apply notwithstanding the aforementioned.

CookieFirst is used to obtain the legally required consent for the use of cookies. The legal basis for this is article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Data processing agreement

We have concluded a data processing agreement with CookieFirst. This is a contract required by data protection law, which ensures that data of our website visitors is only processed in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

Server log files

Our website and CookieFirst automatically collect and store information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. The following data is collected:

• Your consent status or the withdrawal of consent
• Your anonymised IP address
• Information about your Browser
• Information about your Device
• The date and time you have visited our website
• The webpage url where you saved or updated your consent preferences
• The approximate location of the user that saved their consent preference
• A universally unique identifier (UUID) of the website visitor that clicked the cookie banner

Web Beacons

Some of our web pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons (sometimes known as “1x1 gifs” or “clear gifs”) that allow us to check the open rate of email newsletters and other communications. These beacons do not carry any personally identifiable information and are only used to track the effectiveness of a particular campaign.

For further information about web beacons, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org/faqs/beacons.html.

Embedded Scripts

An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Website, such as the links you click on. When an embedded script is employed, the code is temporarily downloaded onto your computer or other device from our web server or a third-party service provider, is active only while you are connected to the Service, and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.

Third-Party Tracking and Do Not Track

Third parties may use tracking technologies in connection with our Website, which may include the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to these third-party technologies because we may not control them and we are not responsible for them. Do Not Track is a technology that enables users to opt out of tracking by websites they do not visit. [Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to Do Not Track technology.]

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

We do not share, sell or distribute your Personal Data with unrelated third parties, except under these limited circumstances:

In order to provide you with the information or services you have requested, we may share your personal data with or transfer it to member firms within WLG.

[We will keep your contact details on our database and may, from time to time, email you information to make you aware of our other similar products and services which may be of interest to you and of developments in sectors we believe may be of interest. If you do not wish to receive further receive emails from us for these purposes, please let us know by following the “unsubscribe” procedure set out below.]

Where you have registered for access to the Members’ Centre of the Website and provided personal contact information/data to do so, we may also share your Personal Data with other member firms within WLG group.
Personal Data may occasionally be transferred to third parties who act for us for further processing in accordance with the purposes for which the data was originally collected or for purposes to which you have subsequently consented. For example, sometimes a third party may have access to your Personal Data in order to support our information technology or to handle mailings on our behalf.

We may, in our sole discretion, share or transfer the information in our databases where permitted or required by law, to comply with legal process, to interact with anti-fraud databases, to protect your vital interests, to protect the security or integrity of our databases or the Website, to enforce the Terms and Conditions of Use or protect WLG’s business or reputation, to take precautions against legal liability, in the event of our sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, to protect and defend the rights or property of WLG, for required institutional risk control or resolving disputes, inquiries or complaints with respect to your use of the Website.

Where appropriate, before disclosing Personal Data to a third party, we contractually require the third party to take adequate precautions to protect that data and to comply with applicable law.

Children's Privacy

Our Website is intended for general audiences, and we do not knowingly seek or collect personal information from children under the age of 18. In accordance with the United States Child Online Privacy Protection Act, in the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any personal information from or about a child, please contact us at administrator@theworldlawgroup.com.

Data Integrity and Security

We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy, completeness and currency of all Personal Data in our databases and to protect the privacy and security of our databases. The security measures in place on the Website and computer systems aim to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of the information you provide to us.

Please know, however, that transmissions made on or through the Internet are vulnerable to attack and cannot be guaranteed to be secure. You hereby acknowledge that WLG is not responsible for any intercepted information sent via the Internet, and you hereby release us from any and all claims arising out of or related to the use of intercepted information in any unauthorized manner.

Data Retention

We keep your Personal Data only for a period of 5 years since we were last in active contact with you or the organization you are involved in to comply with any applicable legal or ethical reporting or document retention requirements.

Data Access and Corrections

Upon receipt of your request and enough information to permit us to identify your Personal Data, we will disclose to you the Personal Data we hold about you. We will also correct or amend any Personal Data that is inaccurate and notify any third-party recipients of the necessary changes. You may update any information you have given to us by sending an email to bcastro@theworldlawgroup.com.

Requests to delete Personal Data are subject to any applicable legal and ethical reporting or document retention obligations imposed on us.

Transfer of Data Abroad

We may from time to time share your Personal Data with our member firms based within the European Economic Area and elsewhere. We will endeavor to ensure that any such data transferred is appropriately protected and made pursuant to a contract or other measure providing adequate protection.

If you are visiting the Website from a country other than the country in which our servers are located (currently the United States), the various communications will necessarily result in the transfer of information across international boundaries.

The data protection laws in the United States may differ from those of the country in which you are located, and your Personal Data may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By providing such personal information, you are consenting to (and represent that you have authority to consent to), the transfer of such information to the United States for the uses and purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom and GDPR applies, upon request, free of charge, you have the right to:

access and obtain a copy of the Personal Data we hold about you;

obtain information about the purposes for which we process your personal information and the categories of Personal Data concerned;

obtain information on the recipients or categories of recipients (including international recipients) to whom your Personal Data has been or will be disclosed;

transfer of your Personal Data from us to another data controller;

in certain circumstances, erasure of all Personal Data we hold about you;

lodge a complaint to the supervisory authority in your jurisdiction in respect of our collection or use of your Personal Data; and

withdraw your consent to our collection, use, storage, and dissemination of your data at any time.

Please be aware that any request for withdrawal of consent above will not affect the lawfulness of Personal Data collected, processed, and transferred prior to the date of such withdrawal. You can exercise your right at any time by contacting us in the following ways:

One Metro Center, 700 12th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005.

administrator@theworldlawgroup.com

Your California Privacy Rights

We may from time to time elect to share certain information about ‎you collected by us on the Website with third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. ‎California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits California residents who have supplied personal ‎information, as defined in the statute, to us to, under certain circumstances, to request and obtain ‎certain information regarding our disclosure, if any, of personal information to third parties for their ‎direct marketing purposes. If this applies, you may obtain the categories of personal information ‎shared and the names and addresses of all third parties that received personal information for their ‎direct marketing purposes during the immediately prior calendar year (e.g. requests made in 2019 will ‎receive information about 2018 sharing activities) or to request to opt-out of such future sharing. ‎To make such a request, please provide sufficient information for us to determine if this applies to ‎you, attest to the fact that you are a California resident and provide a current California address for ‎our response. You may make this request in writing at administrator@theworldlawgroup.com.

Links to Other Websites

The Website contains hyperlinks to websites that are not operated by us. These hyperlinks are provided for your reference and to link to member firms within WLG. We do not control these websites and are not responsible for their data or privacy practices. We urge you to review any privacy policy posted on any site you visit before using the site or providing any personal information/data about yourself.

Unsubscribe

We hope you will be delighted with our services. However, if you do not wish to receive emails from us and want to be removed from our electronic mailing list, please email us at administrator@theworldlawgroup.com or write to us at World Law Group, One Metro Center, 700 12th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005.